Today is the 1st April and the date is referenced in the clues.
My initial thought on reading through the clues in this puzzle was that we would be looking at some sort of April Fool theme. This was not to be. There was a theme, but it was based on the singer MARVIN GAYE [2nd April 1939 – 1st April 1984]. Today is therefore the 30th anniversary of his untimely and violent death.
The grid is an unusual shape, but with my limited knowledge of MARVIN GAYE I am unable to tell whether there is any significance in the pattern displayed by the grid.
There is one clue where I am completely defeated by the wordplay – 25 across for MIDNIGHT LOVE. I have suggested a parsing in the table below, but I will be amazed if that is right. I am also a bit confused by the clue for VYING at 15 down. Afternote: The consensus from comments 1 and 2 below seems to be that I have got 25 across right, but have fallen at the final hurdle for 15 down. I have updated the post for 15 down.
A number of the entries are related to MARVIN GAYE‘s musical career. I noted [I heard it on] THE GRAPEVINE, MIDNIGHT LOVE, LET’S GET IT ON and SEXUAL HEALING, but there may be more. WHAT’S GOING ON is referenced in a clue. There may be oblique references to DISTANT LOVER and PRAISE in a couple of the clues, 2 down and 14 down.
None of the clues have particularly complex word play but I must admit to struggling a bit when solving the puzzle. In the end, I got everything without using aids to determine the solution. It was more a case of checking that the entry I had arrived at made some sense in the context of the theme.
I started off with entries in the middle of the grid and built outwards from there.
I thought that some of the surfaces of the clues were very good – e.g. in the clues for LET’S GET IT ON and b>VELCRO [21 down]
I expect MARVIN GAYE fans and lovers of his kind of music will have enjoyed this crossword, while others will have struggled a bit like me. I knew of GAYE but I didn’t have a detailed knowledge of his life and times.
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Across |
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| No. | Clue | Wordplay |
Entry |
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6
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Novel re-read when cycling leads to exasperated expression (6)
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SHE (novel by Rider Haggard) + (SHE [novel by Rider Haggard] again [re-read] with the last letter E cycled to the front) SHE ESH |
SHEESH (exclamation of surprise or annoyance; exasperated expression)
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7
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Make light of sad drama (8)
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DOWN (sad) + PLAY (drama)
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DOWNPLAY (make light of)
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10
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Keeping rhythm eventually (2,4)
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IN TIME (keeping rhythm)
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IN TIME (after a lapse of time; eventually) double definition
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13
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Upset Peter Andre finally having means of spreading gossip (3,9)
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Anagram of (PETER and E [last letter of {finally} ANDRE] and HAVING)
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THE GRAPEVINE (bush telegraph; rumour; means of spreading gossip)
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16
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Some nastiness kicking off on the first of April, ending in tragedy (3)
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A (first letter of [first of] APRIL) + N (first letter of [kicking off] NASTINESS) + Y (last letter of [ending in] TRAGEDY)
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ANY (some)
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17
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A bit of rough after mother’s ruin (3)
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MA (mother) + R (first letter of [a bit of] ROUGH)
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MAR (ruin)
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18
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Knowing What’s Going On in a Herts town (5)
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A + WARE (town in Hertfordshire)
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AWARE (knowing what’s going on)
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20
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Opening paint roller boxes (5)
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INTRO (hidden word in [boxes] PAINT ROLLER)
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INTRO (introduction; opening)
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| 21 | Drink very small measure (from 13) (3) |
V (very) + IN (inch; small measure) VIN is also a hidden word in (from) [THE] GRAPEVINE (13 across) |
VIN (wine, a drink made from the fruit of THE GRAPEVINE [13 across] in its physical; meaning) |
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22
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Report missing cat is female (3)
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ANNOUNCE (report) excluding (missing) OUNCE (snow leopard; big cat)
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ANN (female name)
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| 25 | After split, go to find source of 30 / 24 (8,4) |
I am really struggling with the word play for this. All I can think of is some reverse engineering [split?] of the entry MIDNIGHT LOVE to give G [middle letter [MID] of NIGHT] + O [love score in tennis] which together form the word ‘GO‘ in the clue, but this seems very tenuous. I look forward to be told the blindingly obvious interpretation that I have missed. |
MIDNIGHT LOVE is the MARVIN GAYE album from which the single SEXUAL HEALING [30 / 24] was taken; source of 30 / 24) |
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26
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Leather is macho? That’s dubious (7)
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Anagram of (that’s dubious) IS MACHO
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CHAMOIS (a soft pliant leather orginally made from the skin of the goat-like antelope of the same name)
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30 / 24
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How’s your father laugh with a line about being single? (7)
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SEX (how’s your father) + an anagram of (about) LAUGH A LINE SEX UAL HEALING*; |
SEXUAL HEALING (a MARVIN GAYE single release)
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31
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Theatre work given to right surgeon, perhaps (8)
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OPERA (musical drama; theatre work) + TO + R (right)
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OPERATOR (one who operates, possibly a surgeon)
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32
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Keep volunteers in check (6)
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TA (Territorial Army; a volunteer army) contained in (in) REIN (check) RE (TA) IN |
RETAIN (keep)
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| Down | |||
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1
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Call girl’s no amateur, taking off his clothes (1-6)
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(TART’S [call-girl’s] excluding [no] A [amateur]) containing (taking) an anagram of (off) HIS T (SHI*) RTS |
T-SHIRTS (clothes)
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2
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Male lover who takes his weight on his elbows? (9)
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GENTLE MAN (a MAN who is GENTLE in love; I’ll leave the rest of the allusion to you)
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GENTLEMAN (male)
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3
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A few Irish houses in a compound with similar properties (6)
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IR (Irish) containing (houses) SOME (a few) I (SOME) R |
ISOMER (an atomic nucleus having the same atomic number and mass as another or others but a different energy state; a compound with similar properties) One of the more common scientific entries in the crossword world
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4
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Hum quiet piece of music skipping 20 (4)
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P (piano; quiet) + (SONG excluding the first letter [INTRO {20 across}] S)
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PONG (smell; hum)
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5
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Natural impulse, April 1st, ending up in court (8)
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INST (April, being the present month [INST] – I think 1st is indicating that the letters INST form the first part of the entry) + (ending up) (IN + CT [court])
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INSTINCT (natural impulse)
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8 / 11
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Theme song reworking content dropped from the title song (4,3,2,2)
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Anagram of (reworking) ([THE excluding the middle letter {content dropped} H] and TITLE SONG)
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LET’S GET IT ON (song / album recorded by MARVIN GAYE, the subject of today’s theme; theme song)
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9
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Yankee contemporary of 17a/21a/27 cutting no. 1 over there (6)
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Y (Yankee is the International Radio Communication code word for the letter Y) + (WONDER [reference Stevie WONDER, a singing contemporary of MARVIN GAYE {17 across / 21 across / 27 down}] excluding the first letter [cutting no 1] W)
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YONDER (over there)
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12 / 23
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Score with back-up singer (3-3)
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LINNET (common finch; bird; singer) reversed (back-up; down clue) TEN-NIL< |
TEN-NIL (a possible score in a game, in Rugby Union for example, but not very common in Football) |
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14
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God accepts each song of praise (5)
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PAN (Greek God of Shepherds and Flocks) containing (accepts) EA (each) PA (EA) N |
PAEAN (song of praise)
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15
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Being contentious, essential set from 17a/21a/27 has variable content (5) |
17a / 21a /27 is MARVIN GAYE The word VYING is formed from an anagram (variable content) of some of the letters forming the centre …VINGAY. , but the letter A seems to me to break the flow. I may well be missing something and again look forward to being told what I am missing. Afternote: Comments 1 and 2 below have pointed out that I have misinterpreted ‘variable’ as an anagram indicator when ‘variable’ is in fact refering to Y in a mathematical sense as an unknown ‘variable’ which is contained (has) in the central letters (essential set) VING of MARVIN GAYE with the construction as V (Y) ING. This makes much more sense. Thanks Gaufrid and Muffyword.
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VYING (being contentious)
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17
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No clamour to be improper as Cyclops (9)
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Anagram of (to be improper) NO CLAMOUR
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MONOCULAR (with one eye. Cyclops, one of a fabled race of giants, has only one eye in the middle of its forehead)
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19
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American from a state unknown to poor Nona (8)
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A + RI (Rhode Island; US State) + Z (a letter often used to represent an unknown in mathematics) + an anagram of (poor) NONA A RI Z ONAN* |
ARIZONAN (a native born ARIZONAN is an American)
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21
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Somewhat novel crossword – stick with it! (6)
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VELCRO (hidden word in [somewhat] NOVEL CROSSWORD)
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VELCRO (fastening material used to stick items together)
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26
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Like this puzzle, it reaches more than 20 different countries (6)
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THE MED (THE MEDiterranean Sea forms a shoreline of over 20 different countries [Wikipedia will tell you what they are])
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THEMED (this crossword is themed around MARVIN GAYE)
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27
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Cheerful sounding Clifford T Ward hit (4)
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GAYE (sounds like [sounding] GAY [cheerful])
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GAYE (the title of a 1973 hit by Clifford T Ward)
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29
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17a/21a/27 ended up this s-sexy (4)
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S + HOT (sexy)
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SHOT (MARVIN GAYE [17a/21a/27] was SHOT and killed by his father on 1st April 1984)
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Thanks Duncan
I didn’t envy you having to blog this one! I can do no better than you with your suggested parsing of 25ac but I think 15dn is Y (variable) in (has … content) [mar]VIN G[aye] (essential set from 17A/21A/27).
Thanks Duncan and Hob,
I parsed 25ac as you did!
I think 15d VYING is marVINGaye with “y” (a variable in an equation) inserted.
There is a NINA that relates to 13ac.
Interesting puzzle. Must’ve been pretty well clued as I got most of it without looking anything up. Thanks for the puzzle and the parsings I didn’t get.
Thanks, Duncan. The theme wasn’t of great interest to me, but I managed everything except MIDNIGHT LOVE (I put MIDNIGHT ZONE). Usual story with themes of this kind: if you know the artist, then some stuff is a write-in; if you don’t, you may well struggle.
To be fair to Hob, the grid was generous and the non-themed clues were clear. GENTLEMAN was funny (now that Duncan’s explained it) and I also liked ISOMER.
The cluster of clues in the centre of the grid must be there for some reason, but I can’t see what.
Bravo, Hob, for the April 1st double bluff.
MIDNIGHT LOVE was my LOI unparsed, although Duncan’s suggestion makes sense and I’m surprised I didn’t see it. TEN-NIL took quite a while to tease out despite having most of the checkers, probably because I just didn’t see that particular meaning of “score” as the definition for ages, and I’d been looking for a theme-related singer.
Although I’m not a huge fan of soul I know enough about Marvin Gaye for most of the themed answers to have been entered unparsed. I found the puzzle a good challenge, but I have to say that even though it is the 30th anniversary of his murder I found 29dn slightly distasteful.
@2Muffyword HEARD IT in Column 6 D, plus quite a few occurrences of the successive letters “ON”, including as the word “ON” in 11A?
Thanks to Hob and duncanshiell. Had a blank and had to cheat on the word MIDNIGHT; having done that, not too difficult to finish with LOVE.
Whilst ten nil is undoubtedly a score, it’s a rare one and probably could have been indicated as such as the word play was not much help without the answer.
Tough to break into for me, thanks Duncan and Hob.
There is a difficulty with clues like 25A. If you have never heard of the song, then over-subtle (to be kind) parsing leading to an unknown answer is completely impossible. I felt that I had been mugged.
Ten nil is not a ‘rare score’ if you ignore soccer.
Not a very satisfying solve; got the gateway clue more by luck than anything the had to google for several answers. But I liked VELCRO, and ANN was quite clever.
Isn’t 2a more simpler? Man = gent and lover = leman? But I don’t know what to make of taking “his weight on his elbows.”
Hmmn. I first heard of Marvin Gaye the day he was shot, and I haven’t heard of him since. In scrolling through a long list of his songs (always an unsatisfying way to solve, but in this case the only possible one) to find what word followed “Midnight,” I found that I’d heard of about two of them, though I’ve never known or cared to know who sang them.
I think 2D is GENT (male) + LEMAN (lover) and ‘Country Life’ revealed that a gentleman executes his amatory role in the manner described in the clue. Still don’t see Midnight Cowboy or whatever it was — we must all be missing something.